Still diarrhea 4 weeks post-op?!?

[Crohnsmomof3]

Okay. I am still having diarrhea, I had surgery on December 6th. I am taking a fiber bulking pill (citrical?) and Imodium. No help. I see the surgeon on Tuesday, so I will be asking him a bit more about this. But, is this normal?

My concern is that they took out so much of my TI that I am having bile salt absorption issues. I should find out a more exact amount at my appointment Tuesday. However, after surgery he thought it was about 100 cm. This was mostly in the terminal ileum, however there was another segment taken further up in the small bowel. I think this second section was around 25 cm. so that means about 75 cm of terminal ileum gone.

Advice is greatly appreciated. I want to walk in Tuesday knowing a bit more about what is normal. Thanks all!

 

[Jennifer]

Diarrhea for at least up to 6 months post op is normal. It's been a long time after my resection so I don't recall how long it took me to start having solid stools but they've been solid for years so it is possible. Keep us posted on your appointment. Also if you don't know, find out if you ileocecal valve was removed or not.

 

[Crohnsmomof3]

Thanks. Boy, I am not liking waiting that long to have regular stools. I go back to work in three weeks and need to be somewhat "normal" by then.

Yes, my Ileocecal-Valve was removed and a small amount of large intestine along with my appendix.

 

[del smith]

Hi I had post op diarrhoea for about 4-5 weeks and was really getting fed up until I saw my gastro specialist. They put me on Questran Lite which sorted me out within a few days.
I take one sachet daily after breakfast :0) it helps replace bile salt which are not absorbed any more.
Hope this helps.

 

[Crohnsmomof3]

Thanks for the feedback. I will probably have to reschedule my appointment tomorrow anyway. Not that I want to, but here in Indiana we are still under a strict no travel warning. The temperature is about -20, with windchills about -40. And we have a ton of snow, I cannot even leave my house. There is at least a foot or two of snow in the road. My surgeon is about three hours away. I hope I can reschedule with an appointment soon. I still have a sore/opening on my main incision with yellow discharge and I would like this diarrhea to go away.